A Grace Given Without Restraint

I am overwhelmed daily by the grace of God in my life. It is hard for me to understand sometimes , well a lot of times, why he would want a relationship with me. The grace of God is something I think few people understand. It is something that you have to truly experience to understand it, and even then I think we can’t really completely comprehend the depth of the grace that He freely gives us. I was talking with a friend today about guilt and shame over past mistakes and I was struck again by how little I understand the grace of God. I think if we really understood it, guilt and shame wouldn’t be present in our lives after true repentance. So, after that conversation, I went digging in the word of God to find some understanding.
I came across Psalm 103, which is one of my very favorite psalms.
8 The LORD is merciful and gracious;
he is slow to get angry and full of unfailing love.
9 He will not constantly accuse us,
nor remain angry forever.
10 He has not punished us for all our sins,
nor does he deal with us as we deserve.
11 For his unfailing love toward those who fear him
is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.
12 He has removed our rebellious acts
as far away from us as the east is from the west.
13 The LORD is like a father to his children,
tender and compassionate to those who fear him.
14 For he understands how weak we are;
he knows we are only dust.

These verses spoke to my heart in a new, fresh way today. This is what grace is all about. He doesn’t constantly accuse us. He doesn’t remain angry forever when we mess up. He hasn’t punished us for everything wrong we’ve ever done, and he certainly doesn’t give us what we deserve. He removes our sins so far away, you can’t find them anymore. He treats us like a father treats his children, tender and compassionate. And the very best part to me today was… He UNDERSTANDS how weak we are because he knows we are only dust. .. He knows we are only human. He knows we are going to fail him over and over and over and over again. And yet he still loves us. He still chooses to forgive.
That is what grace is. We don’t understand it, because we don’t give grace the way He does. But it is so amazing to know that He gives it to us without restraint.

Shock and Awe

If you know anything about me, you know I really am one of the most blunt people you will ever meet in your life. I say what I think.. sometimes much to the embarrassment of my husband. If I had a nickel for every time he looked at me in shock and said, "Lori!!!!", I would be a very rich woman. Over my life, I have left a lot of hurt feelings in my wake. I used to rationalize this by saying, Hey- at least I'm honest! But as I have gotten older, more of my dear friends have taken me aside to point out that hurting people's feelings is not just being "honest", it's being mean. I used to think that there wasn't anything I could do about this. I was born this way. I was born without a filter between my brain and my mouth. However,I have learned this is just an excuse. It is an excuse to allow myself to continue in bad habits of saying everything that I think. Don't get me wrong, one of the things I love about myself is that I say what I think. But it's never okay to say EVERYTHING that I think. I don't mind shocking people. Sometimes I think people need to be shocked.I am all for the shock and awe :) But I don't ever want my honesty to hurt someone. Words hurt worse than anything. I would rather be punched in the gut than have someone say something hurtful to me. Our physical wounds heal so much faster than our emotional wounds. I'm sure if you are reading this, you can think back to a time when somebody said something that hurt you. It was probably years ago, but yet you still remember that. Words leave a mark on your soul.
Last night, I found this quote by an unknown author and it set me to thinking about my words.
"A careless word may kindle strife. A cruel word may wreck a life. A timely word may lessen stress. A loving word may heal and bless" - author unknown

I hope my words lessen stress. I hope my words are the kind that heal and bless. I don't want to use the excuse that at least I'm being "honest" anymore. I want to challenge myself to think before I speak. I want to learn to draw the line between honesty and hurtful. It's such a thin line.

Just Keep Swimming.....

This week has been so stressful. Nothing has gone like I planned or hoped it would. It all began with me getting really sick on Sunday then having to start a new minimester in nursing school. Because it was the very beginning of a new semester I absolutely could not miss the first couple of days or I would be so incredibly behind, so I have had to go to school sick and feeling awful this week. It is only Wednesday and I honestly am already counting down the minutes until the weekend gets here. What is so horrible is that the weekend is bringing its own stress with it. I have homework due on Sunday at midnight, none of the laundry has been done in over a week, the house is a disaster, and we have a preview service on Saturday night for a church plant we are involved in.
I know, I know, this sounds like a complaining session already.. But I share all of this because I know this happens to everyone. We all have weeks like this where nothing goes right, or we have so much going on we just want to hide under the bed. Life can be so busy and so incredibly stressful. Sometimes you just want to take a time out. It would be nice right now if I could take a time out. Unfortunately, life doesn't give us opportunities to take a time out. Time just keeps plugging right along.
So, today in the midst of my overwhelming stress, I came across an amazing version of one of my favorite verses.
Philippians 4:13 says " I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength."
but this version is the one that spoke the most to me today.....
"Whatever I have, Wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am."
I really really really needed that today. I have been reciting it over and over in my mind. I have been meditating on it. I desperately needed to know that I can make it through anything in Christ. He's the One who makes me capable of things I would never be capable of ordinarily. He is the One who makes me able to handle things I would never be able to handle. He is the One who gives me words to say when I could never think of them on my own. He is the One who will give me the strength to make it through this week of struggle. So, tonight... I will rest in knowing that I can make it through anything with His help. I may feel out of control but He won't let me be overwhelmed.
It reminds me of one of my all-time favorite movies "Finding Nemo".. I love Dorie and when she is singing "just keeping swimming. Just keeping swimming." I love her optimism and the way she just keeps plugging along with her oblivious innocence.
So, tonight, with his help.. I'm gonna just keep swimming.... just keep plugging along and I can rest in knowing that I know the One who makes me who I am and He's gonna take care of it all. He's gonna give me the strength to get through it.

Discipline : A Painful Process

Discipline is a thing I lack. I am getting better at it in some areas of my life and in others I still am far from where I would like to be, where I should be. I have found it to be a very difficult thing to achieve. Especially because becoming a person that is disciplined is a painful process. It takes a lot of effort. It takes sacrificing what you want for what you know is best. Sacrifice is uncomfortable. Discipline is uncomfortable. It takes focus. It takes resolve. It takes having real priorities. If something isn't super important to you, you will not make changes to become disciplined in that area.
In November, I began a "quest" to become a healthier me. Not so much in the eating habits but by working out and becoming more active. I had become lazy and overweight and my self-esteem had really suffered because of that. It took someone pointing out that to me for me to really get to a place where I sincerely was ready to make a change, to cultivate some discipline in that area of my life. It took me admitting I needed a change and then caring enough to actually do something about it.
That is what discipline is all about. Recognizing something that needs to change, caring enough about making the change, then DOING something about it. Just knowing you need to change isn't enough. Just caring about it isn't enough. It takes action too. And it's never easy. If it was easy, we would all have ourselves together.
The first few months of my journey to be more active were not fun. I did not enjoy getting up in the morning and hitting the gym when I could be in the bed or on the couch watching tv. But when I started seeing results, I felt a sense of accomplishment at what I had done and that fueled my desire to continue this new lifestyle even more.
I know that I need to start applying this to other areas of my life as well. I need to recognize areas of my life that are in need of a change, I need to care about making the change, and then I need to actually DO SOMETHING about it. Getting to that point takes time and I know it will be an uncomfortable process, but I also know from experience that it will be worth it in the end. I need to sacrifice some wants for what is best.

God I look to you

God I look to you. I won't be overwhelmed
Give me vision to see things like You do
God I look to you. You're where my help comes from
Give me wisdom; You know just what to do

I will love You Lord my strength
I will love You Lord my shield
I will love You Lord my rock forever
All my days I will love you God

Hallelujah our God reigns
Hallelujah our God reigns
Hallelujah our God reigns forever
All my days Hallelujah

-God I look to You by Jenn Johnson, Bethel Live (Be Lifted High)

Vigilance

Vigilance is a big word. It is a word people don't really use alot these days. According to Merriam-Webster online, it's first use was in the 15th century. Its definition is to be alertly watchful especially to avoid danger.
I am an avid reader which is probably why I thought of this word today when reading a bible verse a friend had posted on his facebook.
"Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give into temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak." Matt. 26:41
Simple verse but sure is good advice! I read that and felt like God must have known I needed to read it today. Really, I need to read it every day. Temptations are all around us. Today I was tempted to throw a fit when something didn't go my way. Yesterday I was tempted to spend money that we don't have to spend. Tomorrow I will probably be tempted again. I don't know about you- but if I'm being really transparent here- I am tempted every single day in some way or other. I'm tempted to be discontent with things in my life. I'm tempted to be selfish. I'm tempted to be mean and moody. I don't want to be discontented. I don't want to be selfish. I don't want to be mean and moody. My spirit is willing. But my body is so so so weak.
But here in this simple verse is the key. Vigilance. That is the key. Being alertly watchful. Being on the lookout for the temptation. If we spot it first, we can pray. And if we pray, we can overcome it.

So, just a challenge to whoever might read this and to myself. Be vigilant. Keep watch and pray so that you don't give into the temptations of today.

The Real Thing

It is Corey and my 4 year wedding anniversary. Hard to believe it's been 4 years already. It has gone by so fast and yet it's funny how I struggle to remember my life before he was in it. I have learned so much in these four years about myself, about love, about sacrifice, about putting someone else before myself. And yet, I still have so so much to learn. I consider myself incredibly blessed to have married my best friend. Without a shadow of a doubt, I know I married who the Lord hand-picked for me. The other day, I was talking to a girl, about 20 years old, about how I "knew" Corey was the one. She asked me how did I know? I told her it wasn't anything super romantic or earth-shattering. I told her that I knew because I'd rather spend time with him than anyone else and that feeling hadn't gone away after 6 months (which it had in the past with others). I knew because I saw things in him that I wanted to see in myself. He truly makes me better.

Marriage is hard work, but when you're working on it together with your best friend, it doesn't feel quite as hard. I can say that today, 4 years after marrying him, I love him so much more and in such a deeper way. I know that there will never be anyone better suited for me. It makes you feel pretty special to know that somebody loves all of you... the good, the bad, and the ugly. That my friends, is the real thing.

here are some pictures that I think summarize the best of these past 4 years...